The World Cup gets back in action on Thursday, July 2, with three more Round of 32 knockout round games.
The U.S. topped Bosnia, 2-0, in a Round of 32 game on Wednesday evening. Thus far, major countries like Mexico, Canada, Belgium, France and England, among others, have all advanced into the Round of 16. But we have two Round of 32 days left in the knockout round, before the weekend hits.
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On Thursday, several major teams, including Portugal, Croatia, Spain and Switzerland, among others, will be in action.
June 23, 2026; Houston, Texas, U.S.; Portugal’s Cristiano Ronaldo celebrates scoring their third goal. Mandatory Credit: Troy Taormina-Imagn Images© Troy Taormina-Imagn Images.
But while there will be three Round of 32 games on Thursday, the schedule is less than perfect.
In fact, it’s pretty annoying.
Here’s the full slate for Thursday’s Round of 32 games on July 2:
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Spain vs. Austria at 3 p.m. E.T.
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Croatia vs. Portugal at 7 p.m. E.T.
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Algeria vs. Switzerland at 11 p.m. E.T.
World Cup fans are bothered by the schedule
Why is the earliest game at 3 p.m. E.T.? Why is one of the games starting at 11 p.m. E.T., when most of us will be in bed already?
World Cup fans are annoyed by the schedule.
“What is this nonsense of waiting til 3pm to start the games today,” one fan wrote.
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“Switzerland-Algeria starts at 11pm, when most people on the East Coast are asleep already. Terrible scheduling,” one fan added.
“This is just brutal,” one fan added.
“I get the games are on the West Coast, but an 11 p.m. start time is terrible, man,” another fan added.
Thankfully, we’re still getting three World Cup games – and that’s better than the alternative – but it’s certainly not an ideal setup for the schedule on Thursday.
This story was originally published by The Spun on Jul 2, 2026, where it first appeared in the Soccer section. Add The Spun as a Preferred Source by clicking here.
